It’s not surprising that many of the world’s most successful people share similar qualities and traits. You’ve probably observed or heard of some of them; being proactive, getting up early, ruthless prioritization, etc.

There is something that contributes to the success of many of them that isn’t quickly apparent, however.

Successful people surround themselves with other successful people.

You’ve probably seen this and assumed it was a by-product of that person’s success. That is rarely the case. There is an old adage that you are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with.

Take a minute to think about that, then take an inventory of who you spend most of your time with.

As I write this blog post it is 5 am and I have already done my 30-minute workout, showered, and gotten dressed. My morning routine consists of things that a few years ago I would have dreaded doing at any time of day – never mind well before sunrise.

So I tried to think of what changed to make me feel so motivated every morning. I know that recently my feeling towards exercise has changed from one of loathing to one of enjoyment, but that came after making it a routine.

Perhaps just getting older provided me with the discipline I needed to do these activities daily?

Not likely.

What I realized is that every part of my daily routine that I don’t enjoy but do anyway starts with a small action.

By forcing myself to do a small, easy task, I am easing myself into the larger task that I may be dreading.

It’s a slight mind-game that I play with myself, but it works.

Here are the 5 routines that are now a part of my day that all start with a small action.

Now that you know all about my morning routine, I want to tell you about the steps I take at nighttime that prepare me to easily get up between 4 and 4:30 am. When I was reading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, I knew that just getting excited to wake up early every morning wasn’t going to stick for me. The book did a fantastic job of laying out what my mornings should look like. However, it didn’t cover how I could get better sleep so that I could get to that point. I did a little of my own research and came up with a routine that allowed me to make the best use of the sleep I was getting. Following this routine, I gained an extra couple of hours to my day every morning. In exchange, I only had to go to bed about 30-60 minutes earlier.

Do you realize how much your morning routine affects the rest of the day?

If you’re anything like me, you probably feel like most days, you’re reactive instead of proactive. You feel like you’re just fumbling around without focus, handling things as they come at you at 900 miles per hour. You probably plop down on your couch each evening, wondering if you got anything accomplished.

Trust me – I feel your pain. My life was exactly as I just described up until about a year and a half ago.

I stumbled across a powerful trick around that time that I used to increase my focus and energy. As such I reduced the general stress and grumpiness that I was feeling.